1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to sliding bed trailers and, more particularly, to a sliding bed trailer having a pivotal trailer hitch for the sliding angulation thereof.
2. History of the Prior Art
The prior art is replete with trailer designs adapted for affording users maximum benefit of the trailer. Such designs have included mechanisms for addressing various trailer features, and the aspect of a movable trailer bed has found widespread attention. A movable trailer bed affords the user of the trailer the opportunity to move the bed and the load carried thereon to a particular position for facilitating both loading and unloading.
Examples of prior art trailer designs incorporating movable trailer beds include the following: U.S. Pat. No. 4,806,061 issued to Fenton teaches a sliding bed trailer having the distinct advantage of permitting the towing vehicle to move both the sliding bed and the load carried thereon relative to the trailer wheel base, which may be fixedly secured. With the trailer wheel base secured, the towing vehicle may move rearwardly toward said wheel base while maintaining its direct engagement with the trailer sliding bed frame. As shown in the Fenton patent, the longitudinal slant of the frame permits the rear end thereof to engage the underlying ground following the rearward movement to facilitate the loading and unloading of cargo thereon. In this configuration the direct engagement between the towing vehicle and the trailer and the sliding trailer bed frame is maintained and comprises the point of securement and control during both loading and towing of the trailer.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,859,889 issued to Love teaches the principle of a sliding trailer frame for smaller towing vehicles such as automobiles and the like. In this particular prior art reference, the trailer frame is moved relative to the trailer wheel base which is temporarily secured by brake locking means and then disengaged at the point when the trailer bed engages the atop portion of the tires of the trailer wheel base. At this point the brakes are released and the tires become the rolling surface upon which the trailer bed is permitted to move. As in the Fenton patent, this permits the trailer bed to be positioned relative to the trailer wheel base and positioned in an angulated orientation that facilitates loading and unloading cargo thereon and therefrom.
Another example of a towing trailer in which the support bed portion is translatable and tiltable relative to the wheeled undercarriage portion of the trailer may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,472,406 to Slipp which illustrates and describes a tilt-bed trailer utilized to tow a boat.
A current trailer design by individuals other than applicant includes a trailer bed slidable relative to the trailer wheel base which sliding bed may be secured to a smaller towing vehicle and which bed slides up on the rollers secured to the wheel base. In this particular design, the direct engagement between the trailer bed and the towing vehicle through the trailer hitch inhibits the angulation of the trailer bed relative to the trailer wheel base during the rearwardly disposed operation.
These and other conventional translatable tilt-bed trailer devices have associated therewith a variety of well-known problems, limitations and disadvantages. For example, to cause the necessary translation and downward tilting of the trailer bed relative to its wheeled undercarriage, it is necessary to temporarily lock the wheels of the undercarriage. This is typically effected using electric trailer coaster brakes operable from within the towing vehicle. However, this type of braking system is not designed to positively look the trailer brakes, and thus does not always provide entirely satisfactory results during loading and unloading of the trailer.
Additionally, conventional translatable tilt-bed trailers of the general type described above are not easily operable by one man-a helper is typically required. For example, it is often necessary for one man to remain in the towing vehicle and operate the trailer's electric brakes while a helper attends to the loading and unloading of cargo onto and off of the trailer. Moreover, a helper is typically necessary during rearward tilting of the trailer bed to signal the towing vehicle when the rear end of the downwardly tilting trailer bed reaches the ground since if the bed continues to be driven rearwardly after this point it can dig into the ground and jackknife. Additionally, the assistance of a helper is often required to relatch the trailer bed to its undercarriage, and re-lock the tiltable towing frame in its over-the-road orientation if the frame is provided with this feature.
From the foregoing it can be seen that it would be desirable to provide a translatable tilt-bed trailer in which the above-mentioned problems, limitations and disadvantages are eliminated or at least substantially reduced. It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide such a trailer.